Floor Mount Emergency Brake - Down And Out (Of The Way)

There are many components of a custom or street rod that have to be integrated into the build, such as gas and brake pedals, a shifter, and a steering column. There are others that aren't as important to the operation of your car but are just as important, such as seat belts and an emergency brake. But just because you need an emergency brake doesn't mean it needs to be out in the open in the interior. In many cases the factory e-brake handle or foot pedal is now competing for space in the kick panel or under the dash with other custom components. Relocating it is often a better solution and with parts from Lokar it doesn't have to take up much space or be an eyesore.

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Jeff Lilly Restorations was working on a '63 Galaxie and as they looked the interior over for the best location for the emergency brake handle they encountered a few problems with a good place to install it. One such problem was that the car already had a console that would not allow installing the unit in between the two bucket seats as the common alternative. On this particular project, the factory console flares out and gets wider alongside the bucket seats as it goes up toward the firewall, so there's not enough clearance between the console and the bucket seat.

They picked up a Lokar floor-mounted e-brake and started looking for another solution. The handle was taped off to keep from scratching the chrome as they placed it in a few areas to see where it looked best and still give the driver easy access to engage the brake. They determined that they wanted the unit as close to the console as possible but found that the unit sat too high and hit the seat track, which kept them from moving it over toward the console. Their solution was to alter part of the track bracket to allow them to move the brake unit over to the edge of the seat next to the console. In addition they lowered it into the floor for more clearance, which will look better while allowing enough access to grab the handle in an "emergency" situation. So let's begin.